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software-engineering

Simon Willison develops URL-based LaTeX renderer using Claude Code

Brief written by the FOSSWire AI editor from Simon Willison Web & Open Source

1 min read Impact: 4/10

Key Takeaway

A new tool allows users to share and bookmark LaTeX documents by storing the source code directly in the URL fragment.

Summary

Simon Willison has created a web-based LaTeX renderer that enables bookmarkable and shareable documents via URL fragments. Developed with the assistance of Claude Code, the tool supports both single equations and full document rendering. It includes features for loading LaTeX from URLs or GitHub Gists and uses compression to optimize link length.

Technical implementation of the LaTeX tool

  • Uses MathJax 4.1.3 for single display equations and faster-latex 0.3.1 for full documents.
  • Implements Pako 2.1.0 for LaTeX-optimized compression to keep URL fragments manageable.
  • Employs DOMPurify 3.4.16 and an iframe sandbox mechanism to mitigate XSS risks.
  • Supports loading source code from external URLs or GitHub Gists.

Why it matters

The tool demonstrates a workflow for creating stateless, shareable web documents using LLM-assisted development and URL-based data storage.

Original reference: simonwillison.net →